Meghe Dhaka Tara
– Celebrating 50 years

by arin paul

Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960) - Trailer

In one of his last
interviews Ritwik Ghatak had said when asked Why does he make
films, “Why
films? Because I am totally crazy. I can not live without making films.
Must not we do something? So I make these films. No other reason
really.”

Well,
one of the greatest films of Indian Cinema was hence given life by the
Man, who had to do something. Meghe Dhaka Tara (The Cloud-Capped
Star) was made and released on 14th April, 1960. And this
year (2010) we celebrate the 50th Year of The Classic.

Ritwik Ghatak had said,
“The title 'Meghe Dhaka Tara' was given by me, original story was
published
in a popular newspaper by the name of 'Chenamukh'. Something in this story stirred me. And
that is why Shakespeare’s 'The Cloud Capped Star'
struck my mind and I decided to pen a new
script all together. It could be a bit sentimental,
but to throw overtones out of it came to mind gradually.
Here I made use of Indian mythology which is a part of my life.
'MegheDhaka Tara' expressed my thoughts.”

The film is about Neeta
(Supriya Choudhury) and her brother (Anil Chatterjee). Their family
were refugees and lived in the suburbs of Calcutta. Self-sacrificing
Neeta would always be exploited by everyone including her family. The
only person to take care of her was her brother. Her scream at the end
of the film, “Dada Aami Bachte Chai (Brother, I Want To Live)”
is one of the most dramatic and remembered scene from the Classic.

An interesting info
is that Ritwik Ghatak wanted Ruma Guha Thakurta to play the lead
character but she couldn’t as she was busy shooting for Rajen Tarafdar’s
film Ganga.

Supriya Choudhury
had said, “One thing I felt that there wasn't anything false in
Ritwik Da. He was very normal. Then practically I had no idea about
film. Didn't know much about acting, yet kept on acting--five-ten
films...
I guess I learnt acting in the true sense from him... Ritwik Da's
sensibility
is a big plus point of this film.”

Wikipedia
mentions,
“The film is perhaps the most widely viewed film among Ghatak's works;
it was his greatest commercial success at home, and coincided with an
international film movement towards personal stories and innovative
techniques.”

The film is
unforgettable.
The music and songs were very soothing be it “Majhi Tor Naam Janina”
or “Laagi Lagan” or “Jai Mata” or “ Je Raate Mor Duar Guli”
or “Karim Naam Tero”.

Dinen Gupta
had said, “For the music, all credit goes to Ritwik Ghatak. Bahadur
Khan played, A.T.Kanon sang, but he got the best out of them... The
speciality of Riwik Babu -- everything was in his mind, nothing in the
script... There was dimensional surprise, improvisation. But what he
would want was clear.”

The opening shot of
the film is one of the best shots of all times, where a big tree is
seen in a wide frame.

Anil Chatterjee
remembered, “During 'Meghe Dhaka Tara', Ritwik Da used to say that
the producers were trying to get a 'commercial film' by of him... There
wasn't anything commercial in the whole approach I believe. If the film
had become a success, it was because it was able to reach the human
mind.”

We can always talk
endlessly about the man and his creation.

Ritwik Ghatak's
new film 'Meghe Dhaka Tara'... constitutes a glorious triumph for the
rising group of young film-makers who have been striving to rescue the
cinema from the quagmire of escapist entertainment...His entire approach
is realistic to a poetic degree and he shows exceptional imagination
and warm sensitiveness in building up the climate situations which leave
an inedible impression on the audience mind. -- Amrita Bazar Patrika, 22 April,1960.

As a film-maker,
Ritwik Ghatak has his forte, he has his originality.
If his style is to be categorized,
well, it's a new dimension of the Neo-Realist school.
Countrymen have already experienced a bit of it in his previous films
such as 'Ajantrik' and 'Bari Theke Paliye'.
'Meghe Dhaka Tara' has abundance and reached the pinnacle of it. -- Jugantor, 22April, 1960.

To begin (not 'to end'), here is what
Ritwik Ghatak had said, “Every
work of art is distinct. The form comes out of its theme, philosophy
and reflections. I picked the form I felt right for its themes. So there
is no point in asking about change in forms. Content dictated it.”

Arin
Paul is a critically acclaimed Bengali film director from Kolkata. In addition to numerous accomplishments as a director,
Arin is a founder member and President of the Bangla Telefilm Club - the
first telefilm club in the world, and a founder member and
administrator of the wildly popular facebook group Cinemania.
Arin can be reached via e-mail at
aarinzz [at] gmail [dot] com.

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